SCI Systems plans more plant closingsNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentTo restructure its operations for profitability in the current economic downturn, SCI Systems Inc. will close nine plants before EMS peer Sanmina Corp. acquires it later this year.

Tegal's Q3 sales fall 66% over last year amid weak demandNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentPETALUMA, Calif. -- Tegal Corp. here today reported sales of $4.4 million for its second fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, a 65.6% drop over the $12.8 million posted in the like period a year ago.
The company also reported a net loss of $2.5 million for the quarter, or minus $0.20 cents per share. The results included a one-time charge of approximately $600,000 related to recent staff reductions.

Digi International buys NetSilicon for $50 million to enter embedded chip marketNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentMINNETONKA, Minn. -- In a move to expand its product portfolio, Digi International Inc. here today announced that it has acquired NetSilicon Inc. for approximately $50 million in stock.
With the acquisition of NetSilicon, based in Waltham, Mass., Digi gains a quick entry into the Ethernet/Internet Protocol (IP) -based embedded chip market. NetSilicon's architecture enables Internet/Ethernet connectivity to electronic devices.

EMS providers hope for windfall from military spendingNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a comment
With the announcement on Friday of a record $200 billion military contract awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp. and the promise of a larger defense budget in fiscal year 2002, a sector of the EMS industry is eyeing growth opportunities in the military and aerospace market even though few expect the business to materialize any time soon.

SynTest rolls out design-for-test software to reduce chip-testing costsNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentBALTIMORE -- During the International Test Conference (ITC) here today, SynTest Technologies Inc. rolled out a new design-for-test (DFT) software line that promises to reduce chip-testing costs.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company announced TurboDFT, a software product that integrates test-ready blocks and intellectual property (IP) cores for use in testing system-on-a-chip and other complex ICs.

Mosaid cancels switch-chip project and cuts 13% of its workforceNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentOTTAWA -- Mosaid Technologies Inc. here today announced the cancellation of its switch-on-a-chip project--a move that impacts 13% of its workforce, or 28 employees.
Mosaid had been developing the so-called Fabr-IC, a switch-on-a-chip line for communications equipment. But the Ottawa-based company was also in discussions with an undisclosed party to sell the product line, but those discussions have been terminated, according to the company.

Cymer reduces headcount by 11% or 100 employeesNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentSAN DIEGO -- Citing the current and sharp downturn in the IC market, Cymer Inc. here today announced that it has reduced its headcount by 11%, or about 100 jobs.
Effective today, the work force reduction will trim the company's headcount from about 900 employees to 800 employees worldwide, according to Cymer. The San Diego-based company is a supplier of lasers for lithography tools and other products.

Startup fields Spice debugging toolNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentSandwork Design Inc. is fielding what it calls the first third-party "transistor-level" debugging tool, named Spice Explorer. The offering includes a "lint" capability that finds problems in Spice netlists, and a waveform viewer with multiple display options.

Tough times beckon for NPUsNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentThe market is smaller and the money tighter. Yet OEMs want a 'total package' in support of network processors. These were only the most obvious changes seen by vendors at the recent Network Processors Conference.

ON Semiconductor's loss meets expectationsNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentON Semiconductor Corp (Phoenix, Arizona) announced that total product revenue in the third quarter of 2001 was $275.4m, a decrease of 10% sequentially and a decrease of 47% compared to the third quarter of 2000

Power product market move for AlcatelNews & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentAlcatel Converters is looking to develop a market for its power products outside internal clients with the award of an exclusive UK and Republic of Ireland distribution franchise to Acal Power Solutions.

UMC posts $117 million 3Q loss, cuts capital spending; fab utilization at 36%News & Analysis 10/30/2001 Post a commentTAIPEI, Taiwan -- Silicon foundry giant United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) today reported a net loss of $117 million (NT$4.02 billion) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a profit of $422 million (NT$14.56 billion) in the like period a year ago.
Net sales were $346 million (NT$11.96 billion) in the period, down 59.4% over the like quarter a year ago.

Elpida rolls out 64- and 128-Mbit DRAMs for mobile applicationsNews & Analysis 10/29/2001 Post a commentTOKYO -- Japan's Elpida Memory Inc. here today rolled out a 64- and 128-megabit DRAM line for use in mobile applications.
Elpida's Mobile RAM line are 1.8- to 2.5-volt devices that are geared for cellular phones and PDAs, said Akira Yabu, technical marketing and engineering manager for Elpida. The company is a joint DRAM venture between Japan's Hitachi Ltd. and NEC Corp.

ON Semiconductor's loss meets expectationsNews & Analysis 10/29/2001 Post a comment
ON Semiconductor Corp., Phoenix, announced that total product revenue in the third quarter of 2001 was $275.4 million, a decrease of 10% sequentially and a decrease of 47% compared to the third quarter of 2000.

Implant Center and Ion Implant Services merge to form InnovionNews & Analysis 10/29/2001 Post a commentSAN JOSE --Two independent providers of ion implantation services--Implant Center Inc. (ICI) and Ion Implant Services Inc. (IIS)--here on Tuesday will announce that they have merged their operations and formed a new company, SBN has learned.
ICI of San Jose reportedly took controlling interest of IIS of Sunnyvale, Calif., after ISI ran into financial problems, according to industry sources. ISI reportedly shut its doors following the current and sharp downturn in IC industry, sources sai